Write more! To be continued...

Well, I'm on my way back to Uganda. My mind is more in the US, specifically more in the "what I forgot in the US." I forgot to send Bobby a birthday message. I forgot to tell my parents to watch out for my w2. I forgot to bring Bruddy's cheese. I've been avoiding thinking about Uganda while I was home, but now that it's inevitable I've got to work on my 2010 game face.

New Year’s Resolutions come to mind as a starting point. Write more! Write more! I'm covering that now I guess, but I'm going beyond the blog in 2010. Capturing the intentions (and impact?!) of the work I'm doing is important and useful to the industry. Measuring impact is a goal, but I feel very strongly that I can't wait for the end of the project. I already see impact and need to capture it. “Now now” as we say in Uganda. I have learned so much living in Gulu. I need to push back the burn out creep and the endless diatribe about Africa's problems, and do the much more difficult work of sharing Africa's promise and more importantly, the lessons I've learned about how to access and support that promise.

Let me give an example. In today's Herald Tribute David Brooks takes the typical and inevitable view that aid to Haiti is approached ineffectively, and he offers his simple advice fix this problem. (Yes, daggers may flail a bit at the sudden surge of expertise and arrogance on the issue of emergency response hitting the media waves since Haiti became THE big ticket news item.)

So his simple advice was: "It's time to find self-confident local leaders who will create No Excuses counter culture in places like Haiti, surrounding people with...middle class assumptions on achievement ethos and touch measurable demands."

OHHHH, that's how you do it. Thanks for that.

Let me try this technique: "Ah, excuse me, ma'am whom I just pulled from rubble where the rest of your family lay trapped possibly for eternity, you used to own this supermarket that just collapsed on your head which means you are probably relatively affluent. Would you mind dusting yourself off and taking over the coordination of the rebuilding of your neighborhood and country? A little too early? Ok, I’ll come back next month to hand over. Cheers. Tanks very much.”

The fact is that the world of international aid and development is trying to do something similar to what Brooks suggests. Indeed, Brooks’ simple suggestion isn’t a newsflash in the business of aid. But when you’re on the ground, it ain’t that easy. Sustainability strategies, (i.e., local ownership, middle class values, however you want to call it) should be put in place in Haiti…eventually. Timing, capacity and a whole slew of other factors need to be ironed out. Understatement.com

So back to 2010 and my write more mantra. I think I’ve got an opinion or two on this particular topic and some real specific details and experience that I need to share. I’ve got to. I’ve got to stop assuming that people know what I know. Readership of my blog may be hovering around 2 or 3 compared to Brooks’ 2 or 3 million, but my expert knowledge trumps his generalist assumptions and I’ve got to show him (ok probably not him), but at least those in my world what I know about this profession. “Profession” is what it is, not some hokey do-gooder crap or bureaucratic obligation or burn out hang out.

Write more in 2010, damn it!